Railway-traffic-controlling apparatus



Feb. 10,1931. J. P. COLEMAN ,799

RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 6. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 10, 1931. J. P. COLEMAN RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 6, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 QQN QM mm V with the transmission housing 1 through openings 1212 (Fig. Pistons l3 13 preceding views.

Patented Feb. 10, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcs JoHN' r. COLEMAN, or EDGEWOOD BQROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIG o'n' To THE 7;

UNION SWITCH & SIGNAL COMPANY OIE SWISSV'ALE PENNSYLVANIA; A CORPO-' RATIoN .or PENNSYLVANIA RAILwAY-TnArFIc coNTRoLLINe, APPARATUS Applieation filed December 6, 1929/ Serial No. 412,078.

'My invention relates to railway traflic controlling apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for operating railway switches and is an improvement over the apparatus disclosed in United States Patent No. 1,238,- 889 granted to me on September 4, 1917 for railway traffic controlling apparatus.

I will describe one form of apparatus embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the. accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a topplan view-showing one form of apparatus embodying my invention with the covers of the'transmission and control hous- "in s removed. Fi 2 is a lon itudinal sectional view taken on line IIII ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line TIL-III of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 2, illustrating the positions that certain parts assume when the apparatus is operated manually. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail elevational View illustrating the latch mechanism shown in the Fig. 6' is a view of the right -hand end of the'struc'ture shown in Fig. 1 with the retaining plate 83 removed. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on line VII-VII of Fig. 8.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

Referring to the drawings, an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention is shown as comprising a transmission housing 1, provided with a cover 2. A cylinder housing 3 is secured to one side of the housing 1 by bolts 4 and a control and guide housing 5, provided with a cover 6 is formed integrally with the other side thereof. These housings are secured to the ties 7 of a railway track by means of bolts 8 and 9 extending through feet on the housings 3 and 5, as shown in Fig. l. A

The cylinder housing 3 is formed with two parallel cylinders 10 10 which are closed at their outerendsby cylinder heads 11"+11 and which communicate at their inner ends are mounted for reciprocation within the cylinders 105-10 and are carried by the ends of a pair of rack barsl P- l l whichextend ini wardly through the openings 12 1'2 for intermeshing engagement with the opposite, sides of a gear wheel 15. This gear wheel is fixed to the upper end of a vertically extend- I 1 ing stud shaft 16 which isjournaled at its lower end in a bearing 17 provided in the housing 1. Secured in the housing 1 is a plate a 19, provided with a bearing 18in which is journaled the upper end of the stud shaft 16. A crank 20 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 16 and carries a roller 21 forieng'age- I mentwith a slot 22 formed in a member 23 carried by a'switch operating rod 24 (Fig. 2).

This rod is slidably mountedin the housing 1 and is adapted to be connected at its outer end with the movable rails of a track switch or other governing device not shown in the drawing; I

Fluid pressure is-admitted to the interior of the cylinders 10 -10 throughv ports 25*"25 which are provided in thecylinder heads 11 -11 and which communicate with" pipes 2626 through valves 27 '27 as best seen in Fig. 3. When the valves occupy the position shown in Fig. 2, communication is established between the pipes 26 '26 I and the interiors of the cylinders, but when they are moved to the position shown in Fig. 4:, communication with the source of air under pressure is interrupted and-communb cation is established between the interiors of the cylinders andthe outer atmosphere,- through vent ports 28 28 During the normal operation of the device these" valves occupy the open position illustrated in Fig.- 2 and the supply of fluid pressure is alternately admitted'to the cylinders 1 O?10 through suitable valves (not shown) provided in the pipes 26 26". It will be noted that whenone of the pistons 13?, 13

is at the limit of its travel in one direction, the other'piston occupies a position at the limit of its travel in the oppositedirection. It should also be pointed out that when fluid pressure is admitted to the cylinder 10*, for example, through pipe 26 so as to force the rack bar 14 to the right, as viewed inFig. 2, inorder to rotate the gear wheel 15-and parts apparatus by any suitablelmeans not shown ncremen s 01"; e p sto s term driven thereby in a clockwise direction, the rack bar 14 and piston 13 will be'moved to the left. When fluid pressure is admitted to the cylinder through pipe 26 the parts will move in opposite directions.

Fluid pressure may be supplied to, pipes 26* and 26 selectively for the control or the in the drawing. v I 7 The pistons l l -are formed with cen trally disposed outwardly extending plungers 29 29 adapted to enter azrially posed cylindrical bores 3030 provided in the cylinder heads 11?,11?, as the pistons approach the limits of their strokes. The home w -"7 01 :QQDALQQHEMQ ir ly wit he inlet. passag -'.2 P andatherefore, the plungers 29%29? greatly restrict come naunicati a b ween h s pas ages and the interiors of the, cylinders shortly before the A quanti y of fluid is, th ref re, trapp d n t e ends of the, cylinders, and this trapped fluid cushions theaction of the entire apparatus.

The right-hand ends of the rack bars I l4 .l as viewed in the drawings, that is to any, h n s opp si to the pistons. 13* 13B, are proyided with heads 3l731 which are slidably mounted in cylindrical guideways 3,2%32 fOrrned in the housing 5,.and areformed with-locking dogs 33-3 3 on their outer taces. These dogs are ofiset slightly relative toone another in a vertical direction and. are; adapted to project through openings 3P34 in a guide plate 35. This plate is fiormed; with a pair of horizontal guideways 77; and 78 (Figs. 2, 6 and 7) which are arranged one above the other in spaced parallel relation and which intersect the openings 8fl-ff3at A locking slide 79 is mountedin the guideway 77 and is providfld with a notch or recess 80 in its lower edge-adapted: to registerfwith the opening &1 at cer in mes or engagement by the dog 33?. Similarly, a locking slide 81 is mounted in theguideway 78 and is provided with a notch or recess 82 in its upper edge adapted to register with the opening 34 at certain other timestor engagement by the dog 33 3-. The slides 79 and 81 are maintained against displacement from their respective guideways by a retaining plate 83 which is secured to the outer face of the u d pla e 35;.

An arm, 8lois fixed to one end of the lower slide 81 for adjustable connection with the adjacent end of the upper slide 79 and not only insures that the slides move in unison but permits them to be adjusted longitudinally relative, to each other according to the degree of 'movement of the track switch. 'Iihe other. end otthe lower slide 81 is adaptedto,be, adjustably connected with one end of: a switch lock rod not shown. By means ofythe aboveldescribed construction if'either of the plungers 33 or is in engagement with its cooperating notch 80 or 82 the switch will be maintained positively against displacement in the position to which it was last moved even though the switch operating rod'24;j may thereafter be disconnected or The apparatus is provided with an indication circuitcontroller for establishi-ngdifte'rent circuits when the apparatus occupies different positions. For example, thecontroller may be employed to operate a signal for indicating thex'con'dition of the trackway switchoperatedby the apparatus. This indication controller is contained within the housing 5 and comprises a central'block 38 of. n ulat ng er an bl ks 3 9% tudinal sliding movement betweenthe central block 38 and the outer blocks 39 39 The blocks 4,3?-43 are providedwith pairs of vertically extending pins glt ll "for engagement with the opposite sides of each of the Contact, fingers and 40" respectively, and are shitted longitudinally by means oi a pair of bell crank levers a5f -45". These levers are pivotally mounted on the plate 19, as at lti 4c6 and the arms 474,7 thereof; are connected with the blocks 43 3 by links 48% l8 The other arms 494:9 of the lovers 4L5l5" are provided with rollers 50%- 5O} for engagement with a .cam 51 which is fixed to the upperend of the stud shaft 16 and which is provided with areentrantportion or notch 52. 1 The arms 494l 9" of the {iQVCl'S are connected by means of a coiled Spring so as to normally bias the arms l9 A-9" of these levers towards each other, and the rollers 50"5 03 carried thereby into engagement with the, cam 51.

The parts are so constructed and proportioned that when the piston lBPreaches the limit of its travel. toward itsright-haml position shown in Fig.3, the cam 51 has been rotated to its extreme counter-cloclnvisc position in which the notch -52 therein registers with the roller 50 of the bellvcrank lever 45. This permits, the lever-T415? to swing infa counterclockwise direction andcaus-c the eugagement of, the fingers 40 with their 'asso-. ciated contact tips 42 ments of the parts the high portion ofthe cam 51 maintains the bell crank lever KlfW-in a position in which. thel'fingersAOF are in en-u During these. n1ove.-.

up n.

- crank levers 4545 ties 7 4 7 4 for engagement with the ends of the arms 49 49 of the bell crank levers 1 and 5 of the drawings'and inwhich the arms '7373 are heldout of the path of movement of the arms 49?4-9," of the-bell However, when it is desired to operate the device manually, the Valves 27 .27 are first operated to disconnect the devieefrom the .source of fluid pressure as hereinbefore described, and the rod 62 is simultaneously withdrawn from engagement with thearms 71 71 This permits the levers 69"-69 to swing about their pivots under the action of the spring 7 5 until their movement is arrested by the ends of the arms 7 HP-49 of the levers. 45 45 Now, if

when levers 69"69 are thus released, the

cam 51 occupies the position shown inFig. 1,

in which the lever 45 is at the limit of its inward movement and the lever 45" occupies its outermost position, the portion of the arm 69 between the pivot .71" and its notched extremity 7 lwilleontact with the arm 49 whilethe notched extremity 74 of the arm 69 will. engage the end of the arm 49 and prevent it from moving inwardly when released by the cam 51. If the apparatus is now operated manually, rotation'of cam 51 will force the lever 45 about its pivot in a clockwise direction until its end registers with the notch 74 in the arm 69, and is engaged thereby. The bell crank levers 4:5 and 45" will therefore both be held in their outermost positions with the circuit controller properly conditioned as long as the apparatus is operated manually. The operation of the apparatus when actuated manually while roller 5O ocupies the notch 52 in cam 51, will be readily understood from the foregoing description.

lVhen the pinion 55 is removed and the T-shaped member 66 is restored to the positionshown in Fig. 2 in order to condition the apparatus for subsequent operation fluid pressure, the rod 62 is again projected across the opening in the bearing 59 and into engagement with the rounded extremities of the arms 7171", This swings the levers 69 69 back to their normal ineffective positions out of engagement with the bell cranklevers 455 and releases the levers, so as to permit of the operation of :the circuitcontrol-ler as previously-described. 1

When the rod 62 From-the foregoing it will be apparent that I- have provided a very simple and eflicient construction which renders it impera tive that the operator shall first disconnect the device from the source of fluid pressure before it is possible to operate the switch manually,,and by means of which the possibility of injury to the operator and danger to'traflic over the trackway through the display of false signals is to a large extent eliminated.

Although I havev herein shown and described only one form ofrailway trafiiccontrolling apparatus'embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made-therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit andscope of my invention.

Having I claim is 1 1. In combination, transmission mechanism for operating a railway traffic controlling device, fluid pressure means for operating said mechanism, manual means for oper ating saidmechanism, governing means for selectively rendering saidl fluid pressure means effective and ineffective, and means actuatedby said governing means for controlhug the operation of said manual operating means.

2. In combination, transmission mechanism for operating a'railway traffic controlling device, a fluid pressure device foroperating said mechanism, a valve for controlling the admission of fluid pressure to said fluid pressure device, means for operating said mechanism manually, and means associated with said valve for preventing said mechanism from bein oiierated manuall when said valve is open and for permitting the operation of said mechanism normally when said valve is closed. I i

4. In combination, transmission mechanism for operating a railway traffic controlling device, fluid pressure means for operating said mechanism, a valve for-controlling the admission of fluid pressure to said fluid pressure means, means for operating said mechanism manually, means actuated by the operation of said valve to prevent the manual operation of said mechanism when said valve is open and to permit the manual operation of said mechanism when said valve is closed.

fso

'5. In combination, transmission mechanism for operatin a rallway traflic controlling device, fluid pressure means for opera"- ving' said mechanism, a valve for controlling the admission of fluid pressure to said flu1dpressure means, an indicating device associated with said mechanism, means for manually operating said mechanism, and means actuated by the operation of said valve to render said indicating device in'efleotive when said mechanism is operated'manually.

6. Railway traflic' controlling device com prising a gear, fluid pressure means for operating said gear, a valve for controlling the admission of fluid pressure to said fluid pressure means, a bearing adapted to maintain a removable manually operated pinion inc operative position with respect to said gear and housing. fluid pressure means for operating said gear, a valve for controllingthe admis- S1011 of flu1d pressure to sa1d. flu1d pressure ;means, an indicating device operated by said gear, a seat 1n said housing adapted to locate a removable manually operated pinion 7 in operative position relative to said gear, and

means actuated by the operation of said valve for preventing access to said seat when said valve is open and for permitting said pinion to be positioned therein for the manual operation of said gear and for disconnecting said indicating device from said gear when said valve is closed. r I

8. Railway .trafiic controlling apparatus f comprising a housing, a gear in said housing,

fluid pressure means for operatin said gear,

a valve for controlling the admisslon of fluid pressure to said fluid pressure means, a cam operated by said gear, lever mechanism op-o crated by said cam, an indicatinggdevice o erated by-saldlever mechanism,-latch mech-' anism mounted for movementinto and out of the path of movement of said lever mechanism, a seat in said housing for locating a removable manually operable pinion in operative position relative to said gear, and means actuated by the operation of said valve for obstructing access to saidseat and for maintaining said latch mechanism out of the path of movement of said lever mechanism to per mit of the operation of said indicating device by said lever mechanism whensaid valve is open, and for permitting said pinion to be positioned in said seat for the manual opera? tion of said gear and for permittingsaidlatch of said lever mechanism tofmodify operation of said indicating device When said valve is closed.

In testimony whereof I aflix-my signature. i OHN' P. COLEMAN.

mechanism to move into the path of movement 4 V 

